


Dog Days

by stardropdream



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Magical Realism, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 14:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12170514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardropdream/pseuds/stardropdream
Summary: After a competition, Victor suddenly turns into a poodle. It isn't unexpected, necessarily - he's heard of plenty of people having the Transformation. But, it might be a little inconvenient. Thankfully, someone finds him and helps him out.





	Dog Days

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to tumblr for a prompt an anon gave me asking for "Victor gets turned into a poodle at the age of 16 and 12 yr old Yuuri finds him." Inspired by the [Card Captor Sakura AU](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11666832) I posted before, haha, but obviously not related in any way. 
> 
> ALSO, my friend [drew fanart](http://jlsdrawings.tumblr.com/post/163803212149/stardropdream-wrote-about-puppy-victor-and-i) for this silly fic so check it out and give her all the likes/reblogs. ♥

When they tell the story later, Yuuri always blushes and says that it was a strange coincidence that they could have met, but Victor knows it was only fate and good fortune that brought them together. 

Fate, good fortune, and an ill-timed transformation. Victor’s heard of these sorts of things before – Yakov in his youth, apparently, turned into a Rottweiler for about a month and his parents had to buy him specialty human-to-dog food that had the nutrients he needed as a dog, but satisfied the lingering thoughts of his taste buds. He also remembers some of the senior skaters during his junior days who went on extended holidays because one had turned into a jellyfish and the other into a gazelle. 

Not that everyone has these Transformation Moments in their lives. There are plenty of people who never experience it. It isn’t that Victor thought he never would, he just wasn’t expecting it to happen the day it does – a very inconvenient day. He’s just won gold at the qualifying NHK Trophy, one of his two qualifies for this season for the Grand Prix. 

It’s a strange feeling. One moment he’s human, sweaty and happy and ready for a shower, and the next after that he’s a poodle. He catches sight of himself in the reflection of the window and he delights a little at looking just like Makkachin. 

“This isn’t so bad,” he declares to himself, examining his dog facial expressions. He’s a little surprised that he looks so different as a poodle – he doesn’t even have silver fur! Or blue eyes! He doesn’t look like himself at all – but he loves poodles, so it isn’t a bad thing to look so cute, he decides to himself. 

Of course, after he’s done admiring his poodle-self and he starts trotting around searching for Yakov, he quickly finds that he’s misplaced himself. Or, rather, everyone else has been misplaced from him – it’s hardly his fault he was distracted by his Transformation Moment! It takes about twenty minutes for Victor to actually start getting worried. 

This is the part where Yuuri says it’s a coincidence. This is the part where Victor emphasizes that it’s fate. Because Victor, bounding around a corner, maybe just a little desperate to see a familiar face, crashes headfirst into the back of someone’s legs and lets out a small yip of surprise. The boy the pair of legs belongs to stumbles forward in surprise and the little poodle he has on a leash lets out a bark of protest upon seeing Victor. 

Victor has no idea what the protocol is when you meet the actual animal of your Transformation, so he doesn’t exactly cower but he does lean down close to the ground with a small whine as this poodle – smaller than him, a toy rather than a standard – wraps around his owner’s legs and sniffs curiously at Victor. 

“Vicchan,” the boy says, and Victor looks up at him as the boy speaks in Japanese to the poodle, tugging him back and away from Victor. The boy kneels down, peering at Victor, and starts speaking to him in Japanese and never in his life has Victor hated that he doesn’t know any Japanese – not even how to ask for help! Or ask where Yakov is! Maybe he should have listened when Yakov was grousing at him about manners in foreign countries… 

The boy looks at him expectantly, and then sighs out a little in Japanese. His hands smooth through his toy poodle’s fur – Vicchan – calming the puppy. Vicchan isn’t growling at him, but he is watching him warily – can probably tell that it’s not a real dog he’s looking at, but a Transformed human. 

And then the boy reaches out and pets Victor and it’s the nicest feeling in the world. The boy is young, hardly a teenager, his face young and round and sweet as he smiles, his eyes soft behind his glasses. He’s perfectly ordinary, but he’s gentle when he touches Victor’s head, scritches behind his ear, and Victor’s never had a tail before but now he knows what it feels like when a tail wags, knows why Makkachin is so happy whenever he pets him in the evenings when he’s home from practice. It’s a really wonderful feeling. Victor closes his eyes, just luxuriating in the touch. 

(Later, Victor will know that Yuuri was in Tokyo that day to see him, to see him skate, to see him perform. Later, Victor will know that it was absolutely fate that brought them together, that Yuuri so happened to bring his dog with him that day, so happened to be waiting outside the stadium for his mother to finish taking pictures, so happened to be walking his dog after everything, so happened to be right there at that corner when Victor came bounding into his life. Fate. It was absolutely fate.) 

For now, Victor snaps himself out of the daze the scratching of his ears has put him in and attempts to summon up English – would someone so young know English? More likely than Russian – and looks up at this boy and asks, “Where is the…?” 

He isn’t sure how to finish that statement, doesn’t know how to phrase it properly, but it doesn’t matter because the three words of English are enough to rattle the boy. He audibly gasps, snatches his hand back, and squeaks out a long string of surprised Japanese that Victor doesn’t need to understand to comprehend – utter shock that he’s touching a Transformed human and not a random stray dog. 

“Hi,” Victor adds, for good measure. Vicchan at the boy’s side yips out and wags his tail, bumping into the boy’s knee as the boy continues to stare at Victor in shock. 

The boy fumbles a little, blushing up to his ears – a cute look, Victor thinks absently – and finally manages to stumble through stilted, heavily accented English, “I am sorry… ah – ehm, you are… human?” 

Victor nods, or does the dog approximation of nodding. “Yes,” he chirps out, tail wagging. “Thank you!” 

For petting him, he means, but he doesn’t know the English word or the conjugation for “to pet” – and he should learn that, so when he’s interviewed he can talk about how much he loves Makkachin properly. It’s too bad, too, because he’d ask the boy to pet him again if he knew how to say it. But the boy just seems overwhelmed, covering his face with his hands as he continues to turn red. Vicchan beside him barks again. 

“What’s your name?” Victor asks and waits. 

The boy peeks at him through his fingers, his eyes wide and his lips wobbly when he says, “Y – Yuuri.” 

“Yuuri.”

(Later, Victor will cheerfully tell Yuuri that he thought it was the most beautiful name in the world, the way Yuuri said it, the way Yuuri looked at him, as if he already knew their lives and souls were intertwined. Yuuri, who has always indulged Victor, will confess that he loves the way Victor says his name.) 

“I’m Victor,” he says cheerfully. Vicchan beside Yuuri barks, as if responding. 

(Later, Yuuri will tell him that he thought it was just a coincidence, that he didn’t realize then. Or that he’d decided this was an elaborate prank, or he was talking to another big fan, or any number of things because he absolutely refused to consider his idol was right there before him and he’d just finished petting him. Victor will think it’s sweet.) 

“Okay,” Yuuri says, but it seems more a soft exhale, the need to say something because he isn’t sure what else to say. Victor just wants to get pet again. Yuuri bites his lip, blushing still as he looks between Victor and Vicchan. “Where… do you go?” 

Victor considers this. He isn’t sure where in the stadium Yakov is, but he knows Yakov won’t have left without Victor and likely has noticed Victor is missing by now. He stands up, tail wagging, and looks up at Yuuri as Yuuri stands, too. 

“Follow me!” he says and starts walking. Yuuri stares blankly. Victor pauses, turns back around, and approaches again, nudging at Yuuri’s leg until he starts moving. Tentatively, Yuuri starts following him, leading Vicchan along by his leash. 

They make quite the trio – Yuuri and two poodles, but Victor prances his way back towards the stadium and Yuuri tentatively follows, looking around with wide eyes. 

“Ah, wait,” Yuuri says and reaches out to touch Victor between his shoulders, just at the nape of his neck. Victor ceases instantly, wants nothing more than to be touched there always because it feels nice and warm and all he wants is to flop over and get pet again because it feels so nice. 

Victor watches as Yuuri kneels beside Vicchan and slowly removes his leash and his collar. Yuuri loosens the collar so that it’s wider and then looks at Victor, blushing and letting out a flurry of explanation in Japanese. 

At Victor’s blank look, Yuuri seems to remember himself. “You’re a large dog,” he says slowly, “It will look strange without – um – this.” 

He gestures his hands forward, holding the collar still. Victor understands and moves closer so that Yuuri can tentatively snap the collar around his neck and take up the leash. He holds Vicchan in his arms, the poodle small enough to carry comfortably, and Victor once again leads the way through the stadium, seeking out the backstage access, or the rink side access – or basically anywhere he can go that could possibly have Yakov. 

Of course, once Yuuri tries to get him into these areas, the security denies them. Yuuri tries to explain the situation but it doesn’t seem as if he’s successful. He’s stumbling, sweating a little, and looking down at his feet and blushing as he tries to explain that his dog needs to go back there. Victor even says, “Hi! I’m Victor!” but it doesn’t do any good. Apparently, this is a common occurrence, Victor thinks, as Yuuri slumps away with his head bowed, looking defeated and embarrassed. 

He sits down on a bench and Victor looks up at him. Yuuri looks back at him and mumbles, “I’m sorry.” 

He doesn’t say anything else. Vicchan whines a little from where he sits at Yuuri’s elbow. 

Victor sits for a moment and then sits up, putting his paws up on the bench as he looks at Yuuri. Yuuri doesn’t respond, his face red and his eyes looking a little misty. 

Victor makes his decision – he hops up onto the bench and then flops down into Yuuri’s lap. Yuuri lets out a squeak of surprise but Victor only nudges his nose against Yuuri’s hand until he manages to get Yuuri’s hand on the top of his head. From there, Yuuri seems to figure out what it is that Victor wants. 

Victor spends the next few minutes letting out a soft, doggy sigh as Yuuri pets him. His tail thumps rhythmically on the bench and he’s content to never move again. Yuuri scritches behind his ears again and it’s heaven. He could stay like this forever. 

He glances up at Yuuri, and Yuuri’s smiling – his eyes no longer misty. Victor’s tail wags more and he cuddles up against Yuuri until Yuuri’s petting him with both hands, one hand behind his ears and the other at the nape of his neck and stroking down over his back. Victor, who hasn’t had a hug since two days ago when he hugged Yakov after practice, loves the feeling. He huffs out a soft, pleased sigh and closes his eyes again. He could stay like this forever. 

Well, not forever, because he wants to keep skating. But for now, this is nice. Yuuri has nice hands. 

That’s of course how Yakov finds him. Or, rather, how he finds Yakov – because Victor and Yuuri both look up as they see a string of people walking briskly through the stadium, searching around. He recognizes Yakov following them all, looking grim-faced and frustrated. That one vein that always pulses on his forehead is in full display today. 

Victor barks out as he sits up, and if he could grin he would as he calls out, “Yakov!” 

Yuuri is staring with eyes wide in recognition as Yakov skids to a halt upon hearing Victor’s voice and looks around wildly. Yuuri’s hands cease petting Victor immediately as Victor sits up and calls Yakov’s name again and Yakov starts hurrying towards them. 

“Vitya?” he asks, and he manages to sound both infuriated and relieved at once – a certain skill that Yakov’s always managed. “What happened, what are you—”

“I Transformed!” he says proudly, tail wagging quick enough that it keeps whacking Yuuri in the ribs. Yuuri hasn’t said a word, going completely still as he continues to stare at Yakov. Yakov and Victor are speaking in Russian, so Yuuri can’t understand – can only know that Yakov is angry and Victor is aggressively chipper. 

(Later, Yuuri will tell him this was the moment he realized he’d been petting his idol for half an hour and was having a very minor freak-out about it.) 

“I can see that,” Yakov snaps. “Why did you wander off, you fool?” 

“I don’t know,” Victor considers, tilting his head. “I guess I wanted to see what it felt like to run on four feet!” 

Yakov grunts and runs a hand down his face, clearly frustrated now. “Well, come on. You still have interviews to do.”

“As a dog?” Victor asks. 

Yakov’s lips thin out as he considers. “We’ll figure it out.” 

Then Yakov turns his attention towards Yuuri, who is still sitting completely still and completely wide-eyed, some sweat on his brow. He gives Yuuri a long look, looks ready to snap at him.

“He helped me!” Victor says quickly and then turns, his paws digging into Yuuri’s stomach in his attempt to get closer. He tells Yuuri, “Thank you! I have to go now!” 

Yuuri stares at him, his face gone pale. He doesn’t say anything, just swallows thickly and nods once. Gone is the gentleness of his hands, his small smiles, his warm eyes. He looks thunderstruck. He looks terrified. His hands are shaking.

Victor wants to stay with him, he realizes, because he doesn’t like that look. But Yakov is grabbing him and tugging him along. 

Victor looks back at Yuuri one last time and calls out, “Thank you, Yuuri!” 

Yuuri does not respond. 

Later on, as Yakov releases a press release about Victor’s Transformation and his condition, Victor realizes he’s still wearing Vicchan’s collar. 

(Later, all of this later, when they meet again, when Victor loves Yuuri, when he knows Yuuri loves him back, when they are together and tangled up in each other and Yuuri is petting his fingers through Victor’s hair and massaging the spots behind his ears, when they are together, their rings glinting in the soft light from their bedside table, Victor will tell Yuuri that he still has that collar, that he never forgot that little boy he met in Japan that day. Yuuri will blush and admit to Victor that it was that day that convinced Yuuri to start teaching himself Russian.) 

(Yuuri’s Transformation happens when he’s twenty-nine. Victor spends the whole day just holding Yuuri close and cuddling him, to make up for their missed opportunity.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up [on tumblr](http://stardropdream.tumblr.com/), if you are so inclined. :>
> 
> (And again [check out my friend's art!](http://jlsdrawings.tumblr.com/post/163803212149/stardropdream-wrote-about-puppy-victor-and-i))


End file.
